shoe

And he believes that heavier runners like him might be getting an extra boost from the latest “super spike” shoes.

The advent of super spike shoes, which feature soles with superlight, springy foams and rigid plates, has also brought a drop in times on the track.

To be sure, the old standards of pumping iron and lacing up running shoes aren’t completely dead.

“We’d literally scramble with a shower, put on our business casual with our dress shirts on, belt, tie, dress shoes,” Mendoza said.

“There are super shoes, nutrition, lots of potential advantages. Why not run a course that is not as hard as some of the other ones?”